A couple threads active right now got me wondering about this: in your opinion, does the world and its doings exist primarily for the benefit of the PCs, as opposed to it existing and going on despite (or even in spite of!) the PCs?
I am probably not being as clear as I'd like, so I will use an example: when you create a settlement, do you develop it with the PCs in mind (including making sure there's a shop for adventuring equipment, and some NPCs with adventure inspiring plot hooks) or do you develop it independent of the PCs with an eye toward whatever definition of realism or verisimilitude works for your world? This question could easily extend to other locations, to NPCs and to social structures.
Obviously it isn't a binary question, and some things might be PC-centric while others are more simulation oriented. I am just curious how people design or run their campaign settings. It seems like more and more the idea that D&D presents pre-made stories for consumption by the players gains traction and therefore everything needs to bend toward them and their characters. I am not a fan of that view from either perspective: a) in the context of RPGs stories are how we communicate what happened in play after the fact, and b) I like a world to be built on its own foundation and the PCs are people that explore it, act in it, even change it, but it doesn't exist for them.
What do you think?
I am probably not being as clear as I'd like, so I will use an example: when you create a settlement, do you develop it with the PCs in mind (including making sure there's a shop for adventuring equipment, and some NPCs with adventure inspiring plot hooks) or do you develop it independent of the PCs with an eye toward whatever definition of realism or verisimilitude works for your world? This question could easily extend to other locations, to NPCs and to social structures.
Obviously it isn't a binary question, and some things might be PC-centric while others are more simulation oriented. I am just curious how people design or run their campaign settings. It seems like more and more the idea that D&D presents pre-made stories for consumption by the players gains traction and therefore everything needs to bend toward them and their characters. I am not a fan of that view from either perspective: a) in the context of RPGs stories are how we communicate what happened in play after the fact, and b) I like a world to be built on its own foundation and the PCs are people that explore it, act in it, even change it, but it doesn't exist for them.
What do you think?